Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-06-24

These disciples got into the small boats
and 1 have no doubt they said: "What /,
beautiful day this is! What a smooth sea
What a bright sky this is! How delightful
is sailing in this boat! and as for the waves
under the keel of the boat, why, they only
make the motion of our little boat the more
delightful" But when the winds sweep
down and tie sea was tossed into wrath
then they found that following Christ was
SO [ have found it. Did you ever notice
the end of the life of the apostles of Jesus
Christi You would say if ever men ought
to have had smooth life, a smooth depart
ure, then those men, the disciples of Jesus
Christ, ought to have had such departure
and such a life.
st. James lost his head. st. Philip was
hung 10 death on pillar. st. Matthew
had his life dashed out with halbert. st.
Mark was dragged TO death through the
streets. ST. James, the Less, was beaten
was struck through with spear. They
did not find following Christ smooth sail
ing. Oh, how they were all tossed with
the tempest! John Huss in the fire; Hugh
| Mekail in the hour of martyrdom; the
Albigenses, the Maldenses. the Scotch
Covenanters-did they find it smooth sail
ing?
But why go to history when I can come
into this audience too day aud find q score
of illustrations of the truth OF this subject.
That young man III the store trying to serve
God, While his employer SCOTS at Christi
unity, the young mon in the same store
antagonistic to the Christian religion. teas
ing him. tormenting him about his religion,
saying: "You're pretty Christian"
| Does this young man find it smooth sailing
when he tries to follow Christ? Here is
Christian girl. Her father despises the
Christian religion; her mother de5pises the
Christian religion; her brothers and sisters
scott at the Christian religion; she can
hardly find Il quiet place in which to say
her prayers. Did she find it smooth sail
ing when she tried to follow Jesus Christ?
Oh, no! All who would live the life of the
Christian religion must suffer persecution.
II you do not find it i'll one way you will
get ii i'll another way.
The question was asked: "Who are
those nearest the throne?" and the snswer
came back: "lhese are they who came up
out of great t,ibulation;" great failing, as
the originsl has it; great failing, great
pounding, "and had their robes washed and
made white i'll the blood of the lamb" Oh,
do not be disheartened! Oh, child of God
take courage. You are in glorious COM
panionshp. God will see you through all
these trials. and he will deliver you.
My subject also impresses me with the
fact that good people sometimes get very
much frightened.
in tie tones of these disciples as they
rushed into the back part of the boat, find
they are frightened almost to death. They
say: "Master, carest thou not that we per-
is1?" They had no reason to be frightened,
for Christ was in the boat. I suppose if
we had been there we would have been lust
as much enlightened. Perhaps more.
In all ages very good people get very
much affrightened. 1t is often so in our
day, and men say: "Why, look at the bad
lectures; look at the spiritualistic societies;
look at the various errors going over the
church of God; we are going to founder;
the church is going to parish; she is going
DOM" Oh, how many good people arc
atfris htened by iniquity in our day, and
think the church of Jesus Christ is going
to be oyerthrown, and are just as much
| atfrightcned as were the disciples of my
text. Don't worry, don't fret, as though
iniquity were going TO triumph over
| righteousness.
lion goes into cavern to sleep. He
lies down, with his shaggy name covering
the paws. Meanwhile the spiders spin a
web across the mouth of the cavern, and
say: ave have captured him." Gossamer
thread after gossamer thread is spun until
the whole front of the cavern is covered
with spiders web, and the spiders say:
"The lion is done; the lion is fast" After
awhile the lion has got through sleeping;
he rouses himself, he shakes his name, he
walks out into the sunlight; he does not
even know the spiders web is spun, and
with his voice he shakes the mountain.
SO man come spinning their sophistries
and skepticisms about Jesus Christ; he
| seems to be sleeping. They say: 1--WE
have captured the Lord; he will never
come forth again upon the nation: Christ
is captured forever. His religion will
never make any conquest among men. :"
But after while the Lion of the tribe of
Judah will rouse himself and come forth
to shake nightly the nations. What's Il
spiders web to the aroused lion: Give
truth and error fair grapple, and truth
viii come Oft victor.
liut there are great many good people
who get atfrightened in other respects;
they "re atfrghtened in our day about re-
vivals. They say: ooh! this is strong
reliel ::is gale; we are afraid the church OF
God is going to be upset, and there are
going to be a great many people brought
use to it." and they are atfugh,ened when
evce they see q revival taking hold of the
churches.
AS though ship captain with 5000
bushels of wheat for cargo would cay,
some day, coming upon deck: "Throw
overheard all cargo" and the sailors would
say: why, captain, what do you mean?
Throw over all the cargo!" "Oh," says
the captain, eve have peck of chat that
has got into this 5000 bushels of w..eat,
and the only way to get rid of the chatf is
to throw all the wheat overheard" Now,
that is great deal wiser than the talk of a
great many Christians who want to throw
overheard all the thousands and tens of
thousands of souls who are the subjects of
REVEALS. Throw all overheard because
they are brought into the kingdom of God
through great REVEALS; because there is a
peck of chatf, quart of chatf, q pint of
chatf! I say let them stay until the last
day. The Lord will divide the chatf from
the wheat. Do not be afraid of great re-
vival.
Oh, that these gales from Heaven might
sweep through all our churches! Oh, for
such days as Richard Baxter saw in En-
gland and Robert McCheyne saw in Dun
dee! Oh, for such days as Jonathan Ed
wards saw in Northampton! have often
heard my father tell of the fact that in the
early part of this century revival broke